Did you miss me? A radical step for me to stop publication on weekends and I was worried about losing my readers. I mean, If “ The Sun “ didn’t come out one day ( actually in the UK it doesn’t come out on lots of days ) would its fickle readership turn to the likes of the “Mirror“ ? There are a lot of bloggers out there vying for custom, but I hope you decided to stick with one of the originals. I was early out of the traps in the Big V Blogging stakes and I think I deserve a bit of loyalty.
I said I was tempting fate when I said nothing ever happens on a Saturday so, of course, it did. I managed to break my glasses. Not the actual lenses, but I’ve had to clean them so often over the last few months as I sweat blood to get this blog on the road, that the pin that was holding the lens in place came out and so did the lens. Luckily the lens didn’t break as it hit the bathroom floor, but the pin was tiny and landed just on the edge of the plug hole in the sink and I was able to rescue it just in time. But, to no avail. It’s so tiny. It’s like the legendary pin where a fairy pirouettes on its head. What’s that? You’ve never heard of that fable? Let me tell you, these fairy are a talented bunch. I introduced them to you many blogs ago but worth a reminder . There’s the Fat Fairy who stands on the scales behind you, the Mess Fairy who mixes up your socks and underwear and the Poison Fairy who spikes your drinks amongst others.
Anyway, even the Pinhead Fairy couldn’t get the pin into place so my trusty travel agent Lee, whose husband, Owen is an optician, is coming to the rescue ( I hope ) and I am taking broken glasses, pin and all ( without the fairy ) to his place tomorrow. I do have a spare pair of glasses that I keep in the car, but different prescription so the world isn’t too clear cut for me the moment. Mind you, is it for anybody? And a little bit of fuzziness around the world at the present time isn’t going to so any of us any harm.
Speaking of fuzziness are any of you watching “ Hillary “ the Sky Documentary about the wannabe First Lady? As you know I am not really a documentary person. I much prefer a good bit of fiction which is pretty much what this is. She spins a good story, I will give her that. But it was a little like listening to Theresa May when she said that the worst thing she did in her life was to run through a corn field bare-footed. I actually believed her at the time and still do. She would never have engaged the services of The Caretaker that’s for sure. Or broken a rule that she had laid down herself. An honourable woman. But, I’m not so sure about Hillary.
It seems that nothing is her fault and that the biggest mistake she made in her life was to head up hubby Bill’s push to get Universal Health Care in the States ( like the NHS, sort of) It does beggar belief that if you get ill in America that they take your credit card before they take your temperature, but all the private health providers want it to be that way. She said she thought that she should have got somebody else to chair it ( in other words to be the fall guy) whilst she worked behind the scenes. And that was as far as her regrets went. As for the rest; the Whitewater scandal, being a partner in a law firm that represented the State of Arizona of which her husband was Governor, all of that was just, awful people slinging mud at her because she accepts she does get under the skin of some folk. But she can’t say why. Given the chance there are multitudes who would be prepared to tell her. Me, included. You almost understand why Trump won. Almost, but not quite. Some things are just beyond comprehension.
She’s a very clever lady, but she’s also the sort of person you absolutely hated at school and university. The person who got on to every committee and was always destined for fame and glory. Well, she certainly got the fame ( or the infamy anyway ) but I am not so sure about the glory. I mean it’s not a great entry on your cv to say you came second to the likes of Donald Trump in a two horse race, is it ? I do urge you to watch it as it’s quite compulsive watching a highly flawed human being reinvent herself before your very eyes. Nothing was ever her fault and nobody they trundled out even suggested it was. It was all so sanitized that you felt she was one woman who could hug and embrace a hundred victims of the Big V ( and doubtless would have done to get a few votes ) and not had any need to wash her hands afterwards as they were so permanently clean. I can’t wait for the final episode when I suspect she will dress up as Mother Theresa ( not Mrs May by the way ) or simply claim to have been her all along.
On to nicer people. Two of my regular readers Isabella aged 94 and Daphne from Cape Town. Many of you will have your own mental image of Isabella, but Daphne got in first and we took a pic and sent it to her. If I could figure a way to put it up here then I would. Looking great for your age, Isabella. Re-word that. She’s just looking great, Unlike Bill Clinton by the way, who looks terrible. Mind you, just returning to Hillary for the moment if I’d been married to her I’d have been far too scared to play away. I’d have loved to have been a fly on the wall when she told him what she really thought about Gennifer ( “ my parents can’t spell” ) Flowers and Monica ( “ I’m gonna be fine because nobody is ever gonna spell my name right“ ) Lewinsky and all the other dalliances. They put on a pretty good lovely-dovey performance when interviewed and I bet I know who wrote the script for that. Seems, I just can’t stay away from Hillary after all. And you won’t be able to either.
One person who really, really hasn’t aged well is Bob Dylan. He is a hero of mine as you all know by now. In fact you know an awful lot about me which is quite scary now I come to think about it. Count yourselves lucky because I don’t bare my soul to everybody. Bob makes Keith Richard look like a teenage,r which is saying something. I’ve mentioned a few of the tracks from his album before, but now the whole album is out this week just in time for Father’s Day ( hint, hint ). I must be one of the few people who still buy cd’s nowadays. It’s a bit like my books. Once you find an artist you love you just have to have the whole collection even though, it has to be said, that some of the cover albums of standards were pretty ordinary, No, let’s call a spade a spade. They were awful . They were dire. They were unlistenable to. And I don’t have a working cd player any more so can only listen to them in the car.
But the Bobster is now back on track. “ Rough and Rowdy Ways “ is his first original album for eight years during which he has never stopped touring or mangling into oblivion his old classic songs. The tracks on this album are instant classics. As The Times said of it, “ Dylan has returned to the sprawling, historically informed, straight talking epic sweep songwriting style that made early 70’s albums ( goodness 50 years ago.. how time flies ) such as “ Blood on the Tracks “ and “ Desire “ such enduring masterpieces. So true . Do take time out to listen. Now, he would and should have had something to say about this statue nonsense and political correctness that is going on. I mean, Basil Brush and Fawlty towers and Gavin and Stacey, Come on. And nobody has even metioned “ Till Death Do Us Part. “
Just back to fairies and witches for a moment. I hope you saw “ Macbeth “ last night on BBC 2. We saw the original production at the RSC in Stratford and Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack were the best ever. The production actually has a twist at the start and the end so if you missed it, then catch up. Never great watching stage plays on tv but worth the effort.
That’s me back and fighting. And that’s enough for today as well. So am thinking of dashing off the join a queue for Primark. Or, maybe not. Don’t you just love the Great British Public. Have they never heard of Amazon ?
Stay safe and if we are spared will see you all again tomorrow.